SRINAGAR: A day after Mehbooba Mufti and Sajad Lone, chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, too, condemned the court-ordered surveys of Muslim religious places, terming them a “dangerous trend” that could have “serious consequences”.
Addressing the Friday congregation at Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, he referred to the death of five people during the violence in UP’s Sambhal during a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid, and said: “The killing of these youth in discriminatory police action is very distressing and condemnable.”
Even as the Sambhal matter was ongoing, another court in Rajasthan’s Ajmer ordered a survey of the historic dargah of revered Sufi saint Hazrat Moinuddin Chisti, while a survey of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi was already underway under court orders, Mirwaiz said.
“There seems to be a deliberate pattern wherein first doubts are raised, then the court orders surveys, and then majority claims have to be satisfied,” he said, referring to claims of the mosques/sufi shrines being built on the ruins of Hindu temples.
“The Babri Masjid issue… is still fresh in the minds of Muslims,” he mentioned.
“This is an extremely disturbing and serious issue for the Muslims of not only India and Kashmir but the subcontinent and the world over. …Such actions backed by the judiciary and govt deeply undermine the religious sentiments of crores of Muslims living in this part of the world,” the Hurriyat chairman said.
“If India is a secular state as per its Preamble, run by a Constitution which includes the Places of Worship Act, then why are such issues allowed to be raked up and entertained continuously?” he questioned.
“This is a dangerous trend that is being encouraged and can have very serious consequences,” he said, adding that “already, the issue of waqf amendment (bill) is worrying the Muslims in India, as also in J&K”.
Mirwaiz said the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir, like Muslims of India and the subcontinent, were observing all these developments with concern, and warned that “if this mindset is not curbed, people’s backlash against these assaults will be entirely the responsibility of the authorities”.
